Publicis Groupe merges Leo Burnett and the Publicis Worldwide networks to form Leo

Publicis Groupe is combining its Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide agencies into one global network and calling it Leo. Marco Venturelli and Agathe Bousquet will lead the new network as co-presidents.

The new Leo network will unite 130 agencies and 15,000 employees across 90 countries under a single leadership team, forming the largest creative network within the Groupe. The announcement merges 8,000 employees from Leo Burnett and 7,000 from Publicis Worldwide.

The Publicis Worldwide name will go except in some markets where they have client conflicts. The Leo network will join Publicis Groupe’s creative roster, alongside Saatchi & Saatchi, LePub and BBH.

Campaign Brief understands that the changes will have no impact on operations in Australia, where the Publicis Worldwide brand name will remain intact. The structures and general operations of Leo (formerly Leo Burnett) and Publicis Worldwide will continue as usual, with the rebranding simply reflecting a name change for Leo.

Leo is to be led by former Publicis CCO Marco Venturelli (pictured second on left) and Publicis Groupe president Agathe Bousquet (pictured third fron left), who will act as co-presidents, and chief strategy officer Gareth Goodall (pictured right). Together they will be responsible for Leo’s global creative community and culture, that will be activated at the country level through the Power of One. Andrew Bruce, CEO Publicis Groupe Canada, will also take on the additional role of Chairman, Leo North America.

Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe commented: “I have had the privilege of leading both Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett. Since then, other iconic names have disappeared, but I have never believed that creative efficiency should mean fewer brands and fewer operations. It is about big ideas from creative minds that are nurtured by strong agency culture, to have an impact on our clients’ business. In today’s world it is also about more collaboration and more access to capabilities. That’s exactly what Leo stands for. By unifying the spirit and talent of these global creative communities, Leo will be bigger, stronger and on more doors than ever.”

Carla Serrano, global CSO Publicis Groupe (pictured left) said: “Through Leo we are doubling down on our strategy of strong creative brands, connected to the industry’s only data, media and tech ecosystem. With Publicis as the global group brand we all rally to, we are now accelerating on the Power of One, turning two networks into one constellation.”

“At Publicis, we have demonstrated time and again the power of the Power of One. Leo’s global spirit will live and breathe at the local level, with outstanding creative and strategic talent turbocharged by best-in-class data and technology through our country model, to create truly bespoke models for its clients,” said Bousquet.

Venturelli added: “We’ve never had so many tools to better understand people and connect with them. Nevertheless creativity still is, and forever will be a messy human process. Leo will be a true global community of creative and strategic talents, connected together for a more human way of creating at scale.”